


Eldritch Horror in Need

by The_Silver_Souled_Hunter



Category: Darkest Dungeon (Video Game), Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-10 00:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15279342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Silver_Souled_Hunter/pseuds/The_Silver_Souled_Hunter
Summary: If a villain or any other evil being is seeking help, their best option is to turn to Black Hat. Even if they happen to be a ravenous eldritch creature from times long past.





	Eldritch Horror in Need

Black Hat shouldn’t have been surprised. All manner of villains had come seeking his services, and many, many of them were not human. There was just something…different about this creature that sat before him, tapping her tentacles together. She, if you could call it that, was something truly otherworldly, like she had crawled out of a madman’s nightmare. The same description could possibly be used for him, yes, but this monstrosity looked like she would be happier simply feasting on the entrails of unsuspecting enemies rather than spreading evil. Black Hat sat up and cleared his throat. “So tell me Ms. Shambler, what brings you to Black Hat Organization?” he asked.

The Shambler looked up and paused in wringing her tentacles. “Oh yes, I may as well explain my line of work.” she said. The villain scowled, silently hoping that it would be quick. The monstrosity took a deep breath and rubbed at the spines on her head. “Back in darker times, teams of heroes roamed the land, slaying various horrors. More often than not their minds and bodies were feeble, succumbing easily to small challenges. I would wait within the shadows to strike, or for some poor fool to place a torch within one of my altars.” she explained. A wide grin seemed to spread along her twisted mouth. “Oh, how I relished the expression of panic and terror on their faces as they writhed in a puddle of their own blood, surrounded by the mangled corpses of their companions.” Black Hat found himself sporting a sadistic smirk at the vivid imagery.

The Shambler’s grin faded as she wiped an acidic tear from one of her eighty-three eyes. “Alas, my glory days were long ago. As the age of Light came and technology advanced, it became harder and harder to find prey. Nobody carries torches nowadays, it’s all flashlights and the occasional lighter!” the abomination cried. Slightly irritated, Black Hat waved his hand. “Now Ms. Shambler, I may not be entirely sympathetic to your plight, but we can at least take care of the problem with your altar.” He said. The Shambler perked up for a second before quickly hunching back over. “You can?” she asked.  
“Of course! All I need is one of your altars, and we can get to work upgrading it!” the villain replied with a toothy grin. The Shambler beamed and somehow pulled an altar out from under her tentacles. “Ah, good! We should have this ready in about three days or less. By then I expect payment of three hundred dollars and one soul.” Black Hat informed the eldritch creature. “Thank you so much! I’ll make sure to have that payment by then!” the Shambler said as she slithered out the door.

After the eldritch monstrosity left, Black Hat stood and picked up the altar. It was quite heavy, but his immense strength allowed him to carry it with relative ease. The altar brought back fond memories of the Darkest Estate and the pacts and deals he had made with Ambrosius Darkest, or as some called him, the Ancestor. Of course, those days were long gone as the Shambler had said, and it wasn’t often surviving creatures from that era came begging for his help. Black Hat pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he approached the laboratory.

“Doctor Flug!” Black Hat snarled as he stepped into the lab. The scientist shrieked as he jumped out of his seat and turned to face his boss. He had just been working on modifications for the incineration ray when Black Hat stormed in carrying…a Shambler Altar? He had read up on summoning/ritual altars just in case moments like this happened, but this one was terribly outdated. The top-hatted monstrosity placed down the curio and glared at Flug. “We’ve received a request to improve this altar for more modern times. I expect this to be done within three days, lest I feed you to our client!” he hissed, exiting the lab as quickly as he entered.  
Doctor Flug groaned and rubbed at the paper bag that covered his head. Well, at least he had a good idea of how the curio worked, though he’d have to figure out how fire worked to summon the Shambler (without accidentally summoning it, of course) and modify it for some other source of light. He sighed and walked back to his desk, pouring himself another cup of coffee. It would be another all-nighter.

Three days had passed, and the Shambler returned to the Manor, spines twitching in apparent excitement. “So you’ve fixed the design of my altar?” she asked at the desk. Black Hat noted the joy and slight bloodlust in her many eyes and smirked. “Of course! Just let me check in on it…” he said, transforming into a shadow and slipping down into the lab. It was there that he transformed back and scowled at Flug. “Is the altar ready?” he asked harshly. Flug stood up straight and tried to hide his nervousness. “Of course, Mister Black Hat sir!” he answered a bit overenthusiastically. The altar looked mostly the same, but the “claws” and “eyes” that decorated it were painted gold, a switch stuck out right above the red orb in the middle, and the warning had changed to “The sacrifice of Light is the gateway to ruin! Switch off if you crave the void!”

As Flug flicked the switch, the orb shrunk as the light was drained from the room. A terrifying figure emerged and gave a screech that would have turned the bravest man into a quivering mess. “It works! Finally, I can continue my slaughter!” the Shambler cried. Black Hat smirked at the thought. “That is wonderful, Ms. Shambler, and we will eventually have more produced for you! Now, about that payment…” he said. The eldritch creature turned to him and suddenly started hacking. Eventually a man clad in iron armor was expelled from her stomach.

The Crusader laid on the floor, barely gripping onto life and grasping two beautiful, shimmering emeralds. The Shambler picked up the altar and slithered toward the lab’s exit. “I’ll be sure to send in more with each altar!” she called. A wide, fang-filled grin came onto Black Hat’s face. Perhaps those from the Darkest era were more profitable than he thought! With this in mind, he snatched the Crusader from the floor by the neck. As the dying Crusader eyed the green drool dripping from the monstrosity’s mouth, he had a feeling that not even death could help him now.

“Did you hear something?” the Collector asked, his skull rattling. “Yes I did, but that’s not important!” Black Hat hissed. Normally hearing the screams of the Shambler’s victims whenever they were nearby brought a smirk to his face, but not this time. He had just had to sit through two sob stories about how his client had been banned from every airport in the European and North American continents, and how his friend had been sentenced to twenty-five years for burning heretics at the stake. How the Fanatic was alive after all these centuries was beyond even him, but that wasn’t important either.  
“Well, I suppose we can search for ways to help you gather more victims without detection.” he finally said. “With payment, of course…” The Collector rattled his skull again and reached into his cloak, pulling out a Puzzling Trapezohedron and the writhing head of a Collected Vestal. Black Hat stared at the gem and head for a few moments and grinned. “For extra we can break the Fanatic out of prison.”

**Author's Note:**

> Why did I make the Shambler a girl? Eh...it just sorta came to me, and I rolled with it. May not do it again in the future. Anyways, this is the first work I'm posting here, so please bear with me! There will be more to come in time.


End file.
